


Everything Changes

by FrozenSeas



Series: Because MCU Isn't Complicated Enough [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Cute Midoriya Izuku, Gen, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, Growing Up, Katsuki isn't the focus but that gives his name context here, Mentioned one night stand, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Short Chapters, Trans Bakugou Katsuki, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSeas/pseuds/FrozenSeas
Summary: After a one night stand during a trip to America, Inko finds out she's pregnant.Written here are snippets of how that pregnancy went, as well as snippets of Izuku growing up from Inko's perspective.
Relationships: Bakugou Masaru & Midoriya Inko, Bakugou Mitsuki & Midoriya Inko, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko /Tony Stark
Series: Because MCU Isn't Complicated Enough [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858798
Kudos: 47





	1. Inko's Pregnancy

**Author's Note:**

> So the whole idea of this came from me listening to Waitress (the musical) and hearing She Used To Be Mine and Everything Changes (plus The Negative, because that's just funny) and thinking about it in the context of Inko getting pregnant with Izuku in our MCUxBNHA crossover.  
> So, for full context (other than reading Don't Waste Your Life first of course as this is just some supplementary stuff), it might be a good idea to take a listen to those songs :3  
> I thought writing this would be a good way to explain how the lie of Midoriya Hisashi being Inko's husband came about. On top of just generally giving you all a peek at what' was going through Inko's head. And it turned out to be a good way to just give you a peek at baby Izuku growing up because he's adorable and I love him.

_“Shit.”_ Inko swore under her breath as she looked at the two lines in front of her.

On their own, two plain black lines were inconsequential. Unimportant and easily written off. However, these two lines meant so much of her life was about to get thrown on its head.

One mistake. One night. One red dress paired with a leather jacket. One too many drinks, and a one night stand. All adding up to two little lines.

She was pregnant.

Inko took a few more tests to be sure, but they all came back with the same result. She curled up on the floor of her apartment bathroom and took a few minutes to calm down. She had to figure out next steps. For one, was she even going to keep the baby?

She rested a hand on her stomach and bit her lip, tossing the idea of getting rid of the child out of her mind almost immediately. It wasn’t _ideal_ considering her circumstances currently. But she’d thought about having a baby before. Being able to raise a child. She wanted to have a baby. She had even been thinking more about finding someone to settle down with after she’d found out her closest friend Mitsuki had gotten pregnant. But could she do it alone? _Would_ she be doing it alone?

Inko ran her hands down her face before pushing herself up from the cold tile floor. She made her way to the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients she’d need to bake. She needed _something_ to do to keep from spiraling as she thought everything through.

Plus she was sure Mitsuki and Masaru wouldn’t mind getting a few dozen treats once she finished.

\---

“So, when are _you_ gonna settle down too?” Mitsuki asked, nudging Inko’s shoulder with her mug of tea. “You can’t wait forever to find a husband. Any new boyfriends lately? Crushes?”

“What makes you so sure I haven’t already?” Inko replied, intending it as a joke before she sipped her tea.

Mitsuki choked on the cookie she had just taken a bite out of before clearing her airway with her drink. “I’m sorry. _What?”_ She leaned closer, “Who the hell is it? Did you meet someone while we were in America you didn’t tell me about?”

Inko averted her gaze, pointedly taking another sip of her tea so she wouldn’t have to answer right away.

“You _did.”_ Mitsuki accused. “How far did you get? I never took you as the type to sleep with someone you’re not married to but...” She watched Inko closely for her reaction.

Inko blushed and cleared her throat. “Um… I mean I’m not really no…”

_“Inkooo.”_

“Mitsukiii.” 

“C’mon, spill! Who is this guy?”

“He’s… um…” Inko adjusted the way she was holding her mug. Trying to pick her words carefully before she spoke. She found a soft smile coming to her face as she thought about that time with him. “I guess the easiest way to describe him is really… just not someone I’d have thought I would’ve loved when I first met him? He’s… different than I expected I guess.”

“You love him?” Mitsuki asked, taking another bite of the cookie she had. She blinked for a moment before staring at Inko, processing her words.

“I mean…” Inko took a breath. It was stupid, but when she thought about it, she really _might_ love him. Even after just the short time they’d spent together. She highly doubted Tony would feel the same though. He was a playboy. Everyone knew that. She was sure he’d already found another girl or three to be with. She sighed, “Yeah… Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do, Mitsuki.” She replied, rubbing her neck sheepishly.

It would make things unnecessarily difficult for her once she mustered up the courage to contact him and tell Tony that she was pregnant and planned to keep the baby. But that was just something she’d have to deal with on her own. It wasn’t like she could just _decide_ how her heart felt for someone.

Mitsuki dropped her cookie. “Oh my god. _Oh my god._ You _didn’t.”_

Inko blinked at her confused, “What?”

“Did you get _married_ to this guy? You would’ve known him for what? A week and a half _max?”_

Inko blinked rapidly and looked down at her hand for a moment. She’d worn a ring she had bought herself when she came over. But apparently Mitsuki had jumped to conclusions based on what she said after seeing the ring. “Um… Well… I d- I just um...” She fumbled for words to respond to that with. 

“Now you’ve _definitely_ got to tell me more.” 

“It’s not… I just… I was d-drunk and-” Inko started trying to explain before halfheartedly glaring at her friend. “Don’t look at me like that! I’m not going to explain this i-if you’re just going to judge me the whole time.”

Inko heard the front door open and stood up quickly before Mitsuki could say anything more, “I just remembered I have a paper I need to finish. I’m really close to actually getting my nursing degree now so um… y-yeah. Bye Mitsuki!”

She slipped out the door behind Masaru and waved to him as she went, “Sorry I’ve got to leave so quick, enjoy the cookies!” Inko said before sprinting off.

///

It didn’t take Inko very long to contact one Tony Stark about her pregnancy. She would’ve felt extremely guilty if she’d never told him. Inko was fully prepared at that point to take care of the child on her own, even without his support if he chose not to have anything to do with her or the baby. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was Tony to almost instantly ask for a paternity test. 

Apparently it wasn’t his first rodeo with women getting pregnant and claiming the baby was his. Even if Inko was certain because she’d certainly not slept with any man other than him in that time. So, he wanted to be sure.

Which, Inko could understand, even if it made her extremely anxious to get done.

The results came back positive though, and Inko was able to send him the paperwork with proof. She was sure he had a similar, “Well shit.” reaction to the news being confirmed. But in the end, Tony told her he’d help with regular payments once the kid was born to make sure they were taken care of, but said it would probably be better for him not to be involved past that. Which was about what she expected, so that didn’t bother her too terribly.

Meanwhile, the rumor that she’d eloped with some random man in America had gotten around thanks to Mitsuki. So now she was spiraling down the rabbit hole of that lie. 

After being pressed for details she made up the name Hisashi for him, and described him similarly to how Tony looked when he was fresh out of the shower with no makeup on - adorable freckles and all - to keep it consistent enough for her not to trip up. Though when asked about his quirk she had lied on the spot and said it was firebreathing, since saying what Tony’s quirk _actually_ was she felt would give away who the actual father was. And Masaru had already been side-eyeing her about the whole deal so she didn’t want to give him any more clues.

The only really good thing to come out of the lie was the fact that she finally got around to finalizing her name change. Legally, she was now Midoriya Inko. No longer connected to her past family - who she’d already cut off contact with after moving out - by name. Which, to her, even if she was leaving her siblings behind with that too, was better off in the long run for her own child.

Who she was, was changing rapidly. And she wasn’t entirely sure she was happy with who she was becoming yet, though.

She certainly hadn’t planned on getting pregnant and becoming a single mother when she’d laid out her plan to be self-sufficient and escape from her parents. Becoming a nurse had always been her plan, but having to deal with morning sickness while taking final exams and writing papers during the last stretch certainly hadn’t been part of it.

Her plans were already changing from, “How do I set myself up for a happy life?” to “How do I set my _child_ up for a happy life?”

She wanted her baby to be happy and well cared for. And if that meant steering off from what she had thought would make her happy before, so be it. 

If she could go back and keep herself from getting pregnant, would she? Maybe. But that didn’t matter now. She was pregnant, and according to the ultrasound she’d gotten, she would be having a son of her own. And she was going to do her _damnedest_ to give him everything he needed. 

///

Mitsuki had her baby on April 20th, 2003. She named them Kaede, and Inko was _so_ happy to see them when she visited. And it made her excited for when her own baby would be born in the coming months. Granted, after hearing the cussing from Mitsuki during childbirth because of the pain she wasn’t _particularly_ looking forward to that part. But it would be worth the pain to finally be over being pregnant.

She’d decided Izuku was going to be his name. And Izuku… well, he certainly loved kicking her bladder and anywhere his little legs could reach. And it hurt, quite a bit.

Inko had taken to reading books out loud, often laughing when she got to a twist in the story and she felt Izuku kick like he was surprised by it. Or when she played music and Izuku kicked a few times almost to the beat.

She hadn’t even met the boy properly yet, and she already loved her child more than she ever thought possible.

After Mitsuki and Kaede were released from the hospital, Inko got the chance to hold Kaede and help care for her a bit with Masaru while Mitsuki tried getting back to work. 

She cooed gently at her, “You look a lot like your mama, don’t you Kaede? You’re so cu-” Inko winced suddenly and had to take a deep breath.

Masaru raised an eyebrow at her, “You alright?” He asked, reaching out for his daughter.

Inko gently handed Kaede over and nodded, resting a hand on her stomach. “Mhm. I’m fine. Izuku’s just… excited I suppose. He’s doing little bunny kicks to my bladder.”

Masaru grimaced, “Ouch.”

“He seems to like doing that.” Inko said with a small laugh, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

Masaru nodded, taking care of Kaede himself until Inko came back. When she returned to the living room and sat down he gently sat next to her. “So, Izuku’s father, has he been helping you at all?”

Inko sighed, “He’s… a busy man. I don’t expect him to.”

"You're going to raise him basically on your own then?"

Inko nodded slightly, "Hisashi-"

"Who I'm still not convinced exists." Masaru cut in.

Inko pointedly ignored him, "Says he'll be sending some money once Izuku's born to help out at least. But he's staying in the US for work."

"And you don't want to live there with him because..?"

Inko bit her lip, "You know I'm going to school and work here. Japan is my home."

Masaru hummed and decided against pushing the topic, "Well, if you ever need help just give me and Mitsuki a call? I'm sure we can help on occasion."

Inko smiled gently, "Okay. Thank you, Masaru."

///

When Izuku was born on July 15th, Inko cried.

He was placed on her chest, and Inko could see little dark squiggles of hair on his head. Hair that would eventually turn into a thick mop of dark green curls.

Her baby boy cried too, and she did her best to soothe him. 

It was… a lot.

And Inko found herself crying out of joy on multiple occasions.

Inko struggled a bit trying to take care of Izuku by herself the first few weeks. And had to learn to work on very low sleep due to having to wake and take care of Izuku anytime he woke during the night. Trying to finish up her studies was difficult as well as she couldn’t always rely on Masaru and Mitsuki to babysit when she needed a bit of time.

Though, money for a babysitter and other sudden expenses Inko had to deal with were quickly handled after Inko got her first check from Tony.

Tony had said it would be a small amount to help make sure Izuku was taken care of. So, Inko wasn’t expecting much. Though she supposed she should have realized Tony’s definition of “a small amount” would be _wildly_ different from hers. Just one month’s payment had her set for everything she had to buy and to pay for care for Izuku without having to tap into her own savings.

The fact that _another_ check came only a month after that, and seemed to be on a schedule to continue, meant for the first time in her life she hardly had to worry about expenses. Though, she didn’t want to become reliant on the checks. Especially when she didn’t know when they would stop coming. So other than occasionally tapping into those funds when things got tight, she put all of it into savings for Izuku. That way he would have it for when he was older.

She took an almost alarming amount of photos of Izuku, especially during his first year. Both for herself, and because she couldn’t help but think about making sure Tony could see what Izuku looked like growing up if he ever took an interest. She doubted it mostly, but she still held out a little bit of hope that Izuku would get to meet his father.

The fact that she even had to keep up the lie about her “husband” with Izuku left a bad taste in her mouth though. She knew as Izuku grew up he’d become more and more curious about his father, since he was never around, but unfortunately she couldn’t do anything about it. Nothing she could say would make him feel better about his lack of a father in his life.


	2. Izuku, Age 3

Izuku giggled as he hugged his mother, looking up at her as she worked in the kitchen to make dinner. After about a minute, he quietly spoke. “Mama? Can ask question?”

“Yes, Izu?” Inko asked, reaching down to ruffle his hair. “What’s my sweet baby want to know?”

“Why does Papa no live with us?”

Inko froze for a moment before setting what she was doing down and crouching to be on his level. “Your Dad lives in America sweetie. He… can’t really visit. I’m sure if he could he would though.”

Izuku frowned a bit, thinking. “He not like me, Mama?” He asked.

“Oh baby…” Inko said before pulling him into a hug, “I’m sure he loves you. I’m sorry you can’t meet him. I wish you could.” She felt Izuku grab onto her shirt.

“Can… um… have stories?”

“About your Dad?”

Izuku nodded gently.

Inko hummed, “I can tell you a little. Let me finish dinner, then I’ll tell you all about him okay?”

“Okay, Mama.” Izuku said gently. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Izu.” Inko replied, gently kissing him on the forehead.

///

"Help! Help!" Inko called, waiting for Izuku to come 'rescue' her from under the 'snow' (blanket) she was trapped under.

Izuku slid the door of the room quickly and put his hands into the air with a grin. "I am here!" He cheered, "I save you Mama!" He said before rushing over and carefully pulling the blanket off of her head.

" _ Brr." _ Inko said, shivering and running her hands over her arms. "Thank you for saving me Small Might!" She said with a smile.

"Don't thank yet! Not done!" Izuku replied.

"Oh?"

"Mama still cold." Izuku said seriously before going over to wrap her in a hug. He hummed happily, "Better?" He asked gently.

Inko's smile widened and she wrapped him up in a hug in return. "Much better, Izu."

Her son had gotten quite attached to All Might, watching his debut video over and over. So, she'd gotten him an All Might kigurumi for Christmas. Which he seemed to be  _ loving _ , and made Inko extremely happy to see.

Izuku was so happy and excited all the time, especially about heroes, and it brought her a lot of joy to see him grinning so much.

"Mama?" Izuku asked, looking up at her from where his head was resting on her chest.

"Yes, Izu?"

"Take picture? For book." He asked, pointing up at the scrapbook he'd seen Inko working on. Inko had mentioned it once that she planned on giving it to his Dad one day, so Izuku wanted to fill it up with as many new pictures as he could when he remembered it.

Inko worked on it whenever she got anxious or worried about Izuku, or whenever she worried about Tony and what he was up to, because it brought her a bit of comfort. It gave her a little bit of peace knowing these important moments were recorded down for Tony to see one day. And apparently, it did the same for Izuku.

Inko hummed in thought before nodding, "Of course Izuku. I think this is definitely something we should be able to show your Dad. Right?"

"Yeah! Wanna show 'm gonna be a hero!" Izuku said excitedly.

"I'm sure you'll be amazing Izuku." Inko said, before placing a kiss on her son's forehead.


	3. Izuku, Age 4

The sound of Izuku's action figure clattering onto the ground was almost deafening. 

Inko's heart sunk as she realized what this meant. She hardly even processed the Doctor's explanation of the results, even though she knew she should be listening. She responded to his questions as best as she could, but if you were to ask her a moment later what she replied with, she couldn't tell you.

Her baby was quirkless.

And he couldn't follow his dream.

It'd be too dangerous and he'd get badly hurt or worse if he tried.

It was hard for Inko's thoughts not to spiral down all the worst case scenarios if Izuku still continued to try. She wouldn't stop him from trying, she could never do that. But the idea of her baby boy going out and getting badly hurt because he didn't have a quirk  _ terrified her _ .

She couldn't help but feel it was her fault somehow. She'd failed him.

Inko wrapped Izuku up in a hug and sobbed when she saw him crying while watching All Might's debut again. She tried to apologize to him for not giving him good cards to follow his dream with. Though she didn't know how much she actually managed to say between her sobs.

Izuku had been  _ so excited _ at the prospect of getting a quirk. A quirk that apparently, would never come.

Remembering all the moments when Izuku tried to test if he'd inherited firebreathing from his father broke her heart all over again. Him getting a quirk like that would've been a one in a million chance because she  _ knew _ Tony had a mental quirk. She knew that, and yet she continued to lie to her son. Even when she saw him looking longingly at the flame of a candle, wishing the doctor was wrong and that he could manipulate it somehow.

Inko loved her son all the same, quirk or not. But not having a quirk made a huge impact on his life.

Izuku didn't smile nearly as much as he did before now. 

He was heartbroken, and so was Inko.

///

After having to work a bit late one night, Inko rushed back home as fast as she could. Izuku was still young, and she didn't want to leave him home alone for long if she could help it. But circumstances for that bit of overtime that day had been out of her control.

"I'm home!" Inko called into the house after unlocking the door. "Izuku?"

"Hi Mama!" Izuku called back before peeking around the doorframe of the bathroom with a small smile on his face.

Inko walked over and scooped up her son to give him a hug, "Were you alright? I'm sorry I was gone so long." She asked before blinking at him once he was back down on the ground. She realized her son's normally every present freckles seemed to have disappeared. And in their place was far too much blush along with smeared eyeshadow around his eyes. 

"Mhm. I had some snacks when I got home. And I watched some TV."

"That doesn't seem to be all you did. What's all over your face?" Inko asked gently.

Izuku blushed immediately, "Um… wanted to try Mama's makeup and look pretty too."

Inko laughed slightly, "Well, I think you look cute without the makeup Izuku."

"Not  _ cute. Pretty." _ Izuku pouted.

"Sorry, you look  _ pretty _ without the makeup." Inko corrected, "But this works too. Though I think you used a bit too much. If you had asked me I would've shown you how."

Izuku frowned and looked to his feet, "Sorry Mama."

"You're okay Izuku. I'll let you use it. Next time you want to try using something of mine, just ask permission first, okay?"

"Okay Mama…"

"You did pretty good for a first try though. How about we get some dinner, and then I show you how to use my makeup?" Inko suggested.

Izuku's face lit up and he looked up at her again, "Really?"

Inko ruffled Izuku's hair gently. "Of course, Izu. You're curious, so I'll show you how."

Izuku grinned up at her in excitement, and Inko couldn't help the way her heart melted at the sight. It had been a long day at work, but coming home to see her happy son more than made up for that most days.

///

Izuku sat on the lid of the toilet in the bathroom with a bruising face and scraped up arms. He whimpered quietly in pain as Inko make sure his wounds were all clean and bandaged him up.

"I know it hurts Izu, I'm almost done." Inko said gently. Once she got the last bandage on him, she gently kissed the top of it before carefully pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry you got hurt sweetie. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I… I was playing with the other k-kids on the playground." Izuku said, quietly sniffling. "I um… I f-fell off the p-playset while we were playing. It was an accident. I-I'm s-sorry, M-Mama."

Inko gently ran her fingers through Izuku's curls, "It was an accident Izu, you're not in trouble. You didn't do anything wrong. You just need to be careful."

Izuku's chin wobbled slightly and a tear slipped down his face. "But I made you upset! I don't like making Mama cry. I don't like Mama being sad."

Inko gently wiped his tears away with a thumb before gently kissing him on the forehead. "You didn't upset me Izuku. Mama just doesn't like seeing her baby boy hurt. That's all. I'm upset because you're hurt, but I'm not upset with you."

Izuku frowned, but didn't say anything more. He simply nodded in reply.

"Why don't we go get some ice cream and watch a movie. Would that help?" Inko asked gently.

Izuku bit his lip, "And cuddles?" He asked, raising his arms up towards her slightly.

"And cuddles." Inko agreed, scooping him up gently.

///

Izuku and Kaede were practically inseparable from the moment they met. They got along well, especially for young children. What likely helped with this was the fact that Izuku was unquestionably loyal and stuck by Kaede, though he wasn’t afraid to point out when Kaede was being silly or mean. Kaede on the other hand wasn’t afraid to stick up for her friend and not let the other kids walk all over him.

They both got into their fair share of trouble, as children do, but they kept the other from getting into trouble just as much. Izuku could be too kind and not assert himself, so Kaede would help and do it for him. Kaede could be too mean and rough sometimes, but Izuku was able to help remind her when to hold back her anger and go cool off.

They were complete opposites in many ways, but that’s what balanced them both out. So it wasn’t surprising to Inko that they became best friends.

Though what  _ was _ surprising to Inko was the way they decided to promise to  _ stay _ best friends forever. Most kids settled on things like friendship bracelets and the like, but the two of them… they decided that if they were going to stay together forever the most logical promise to make to them was a promise to get married. Since, according to what Inko could gather by asking Izuku what he thought marriage meant, getting married to them required you to be the bestest of friends and you always wanted to be there for the other person. So being married, to Izuku at least, just meant being the ultimate best friends, since obviously you had to really love the person if you were okay with doing “gross stuff” like kissing and were willing to pick up each other’s messes.

Inko supposed that did make some semblance of sense, and didn’t see any harm in it, so she was okay with Kaede “proposing” to Izuku with the small green plastic ring she’d demanded Masaru help her buy for Izuku.

The next month, Inko couldn’t help but smile at how happy Izuku seemed. He absolutely refused to take off the ring unless he was sleeping or bathing, and anytime he looked down at his hand he had a bright grin that made Inko’s heart melt.

The only reason she could even get it off him during those times was because he’d almost lost it in the bath drain once after it slipped off, and actually  _ had _ lost it during the night once when it slipped off in his sleep. When that happened Inko had to calm her crying child before removing everything off of his bed to find where it had fallen.

Inko dreaded the day when that ring was too small for him to wear anymore since he grew so fast, but she at least had a plan for when it did. In preparation she bought a plain necklace chain that she would be able to place the ring on so he could still wear it.

She assumed one day Izuku would decide to stop wearing it entirely, and probably put it in a box or something to keep. But she knew it would be some time before that happened as well.

Inko expected that once the two children were older, they either would have forgotten completely about the engagement, or remember it and laugh about it when they were older. Whether they actually ended up getting married in the future or not. They could only guess at what their relationship would be as they got older after all. 

They could grow distant, or they could grow even closer, only time would tell.


	4. Izuku, Age 5

"Coming! One second!" Inko called after hearing a knock at the door. Upon opening it, Inko saw one of the local heroes that patrolled the area, along with an ash covered Izuku.

"Wh- what happened!?" Inko asked, kneeling down to look at her son. "Are you hurt Izu?"

Izuku shook his head quickly, "Not hurt Mama. I'm okay. Sorry I messy."

"Your son was present during an villain attack again, this time involving someone with a fire related quirk." The hero explained, "He was unharmed, as he had been hiding during the attack, but he was fairly close to the villain. Hence the ash."

Inko's eyes widened, "You got caught in a villain attack?" She asked, looking down at Izuku. She paused a moment before looking up at the hero once more, "Wait…  _ again?" _

Izuku pointedly stared down at his shoes, avoiding eye contact with Inko. "Didn't get hurt. Was okay."

"This is the first time I've caught him before he ran off on his own, but I've seen him nearby three other attacks this month in the area." The hero explained, "I just wanted to make sure he got home safe."

"Th-Thank you for doing that, really." Inko said.

"Not a problem ma'am. Have a nice day." The hero said before bowing and turning, presumably to go back to their patrols.

Inko gently ushered Izuku inside, before crouching down to get at eye level with him. "Izuku, why didn't you tell me you got caught up in villain attacks?"

Izuku bit his lip, "'Cause I was 'kay?" He answered, still looking downwards like he thought he was in trouble. "I saw the villain attacks, but I didn't get hurt. It was jus' like watching it on TV. I stay hidden."

"Izuku, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to know why you didn't say anything." Inko said gently, getting him to look up and meet her eyes. "Were you scared?"

Izuku shook his head, "No. The heroes showed up quick. I knew they'd stop them."

"That's good." Inko said, gently pulling him into a hug.

"Sorry I worried you Mama." Izuku muttered against her, hugging her back.

"I'm just glad you're okay, sweetie." Izuku replied. She pulled back to look at him. "You're really dirty though. Why don't we have you take a bath?"

Izuku nodded, "Okay Mama." He paused for a moment, "Bubble bath?"

Inko smiled, "Sure. With extra rubber duckies."

Izuku giggled, "Yay! Duckies!"

///

_ "Summer lovin' had me a blast~" _ Inko sang along to the music with a grin as she watched Izuku dance around the living room.  _ "Summer lovin' happened so fast~" _

Izuku giggled before singing,  _ "I met a girl, crazy for me~" _

_ "I met a boy, cute as can be." _ Inko continued, gently pinching Izuku's cheek when he moved by causing him to squeal slightly.

_ "Summer days, drifting away to oh oh those summer nights." _

_ "Oh well oh well oh well oh-" _ Inko and Izuku sang together. Though Izuku went over and quickly paused the music before it continued.

"Wait. Not this one. Want a different song." Izuku said as he looked at Inko's (fairly old at this point) laptop she'd set up on the coffee table.

"Alright then. Go ahead and change it." Inko said, reaching over to ruffle Izuku's hair a little bit. Izuku had a beautiful singing voice for his age, which Inko was trying to encourage along with teaching him some English at the same time through musical songs. It helped that she'd been singing songs like it to him since he was little, but he was still getting the hang of speaking it and understanding instead of just copying the words and sounds.

They'd been hopping songs a bit, as Izuku couldn't decide on what he wanted to sing that day for whatever reason. But Inko wasn't about to complain.

Izuku pouted grumpily at the screen, apparently not seeing what he wanted to listen to.

Inko hummed, thinking of a suggestion. "Chim chimney chim chimney chim chim cher-oo-"

"I does what I likes, and I likes what I do-" Izuku continued without thinking about it before sighing dramatically. "I don't know what song it  _ is." _ He said, grumpily.

"Can you sing part of what you're thinking of? Maybe I can find it." Inko suggested.

Izuku shook his head, "'M not sure."

Inko hummed a moment. "It's a hard knock life, for us-"

Izuku shook his head at her.

"I can hear the bells~ Well don't ya hear 'em chime-"

Izuku shook his head again.

"Let's get down to business-"

Izuku shook his head quickly.

"I can show you the world-"

Izuku shook his head once more. "Not any of those  _ either." _

Inko laughed slightly, amused at Izuku's frustration. "Well I'm running out of options here Izu. We've already tried most of the other disney movies and musicals you've seen today… Little Shop of Horrors?" Before Izuku could even shake his head again Inko knew from his face that wasn't it. "Wizard of Oz?"

Izuku blinked and tilted his head slightly, "Maybe..?"

"Or are you thinking of Wicked?"

"Oh! That one!" Izuku said, a smile coming to his face. "I think that's it!"

Inko snickered and pulled up the album for Izuku to find the song he wanted to play. "There we go. I knew we'd narrow it down eventually."

Izuku found what he was looking for and moved to sit next to Inko on the couch. They started singing together, and Inko could tell just from the way he was sitting that he was trying to play the character as he sang. It made her wonder if he'd go into theater instead of heroics sometimes, though she knew he'd more than likely still try to go for heroics for a long time.

Even if it was basically impossible for him to become a hero without a quirk, she knew her baby was still going to fight for his dream.

_ "You can still be with the Wizard, what you've worked and waited for. You can have all you ever wanted-" _ Inko sang, taking note of how Izuku clutched his pant legs as he looked up at her.

"I know.  _ But I don't want it-  _ No!  _ I can't want it, anymore~" _ Izuku sang.

Inko noticed tears pricking the corners of Izuku's eyes, and she reached out to brush them away, but before she could Izuku stood and went to the center of the living room.

_ "Something has changed within me. Something is not the same." _ Izuku sang with his back turned to her, and Inko couldn't help but feel like the reason Izuku was trying to find this specific song is because he had something he wanted to express with it. Even if he was trying to pretend to be Elphaba at the same time.

It had been just over a year since they'd been told he was quirkless. And whether Inko had realized it before or not, Izuku had apparently been thinking about it a lot that week.

_ "I'm through playing by the rules of someone else's game."  _ Izuku continued, now turning back to face Inko. " _ Too late for second guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust my instincts." _ Izuku closed his eyes,  _ "Close my eyes and leap~" _

Izuku opened his eyes and looked at her hopefully,  _ "It's time to try defying gravity. I think I'll try defying gravity. And you can't pull me down." _

Inko smiled softly at Izuku even as she continued the next line.  _ "Can't I make you understand? You're having delusions of grandeur." _

Izuku bit his lip before shaking his head, almost missing his cue.  _ "I'm through accepting limits. Cuz someone says they're so."  _ He sang, looking determined. _ "Some things I cannot change." _ He clutched his own shirt,  _ "But till I try I'll never know~" _

Inko thought she started to get what Izuku was trying to express to her, as well as himself from what she was getting. She'd noticed his hero analysis notebook had been starting to collect a bit of dust on his desk the past month. At the start he'd been writing in it a lot every week, but he'd almost forgotten about it for some time it seemed like.

And along with that Izuku had seemed a lot sadder, despite her cheering him up whenever possible.

Whatever had been going through his little mind, she supposed he'd made a decision.

_ "Too long I've been afraid of… Losing love I guess I've lost.  _ But if that's love…  _ it comes at much too high a cost!" _ Izuku continued.

Inko went over and wrapped Izuku up in a hug even as he continued to sing, hesitating just slightly before returning her hug.

_ "Unlimited. Together we're… unlimited. Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been - Glinda!" _ Izuku sang, pulling back a bit to look at his mother.  _ "Dreams the way we planned 'em." _

Inko smiled sadly, a few tears coming to her own eyes.  _ "If we work in tandem~" _ She brought Izuku back into the hug, holding him close.

She'd already known it, but if Izuku wanted to keep fighting for his dream she was going to help him wherever she could. Even if it scared her what could happen if her baby became a hero.

///

Inko let out a long sigh as she finally finished cleaning up the dishes from that night. The Bakugou's had all come over to eat, and they had talked for a while whilst Izuku and Kaede played together. She'd put him to bed right after they left, and then went right to work cleaning up so she wouldn't have to do it in the morning.

After that she made her way up the stairs to Izuku's room to check on him before she went to sleep. Though when she peeked in, she didn't see what she was expecting. She didn't see  _ him _ at all.

Her heart dropped as she flipped on the light to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

Izuku's blankets had been pushed aside like he'd gotten up out of bed, his shoes were gone, and most worrying of all his window was open. The curtains left fluttering in the night breeze.

She rushed over to look out, hoping to spot her son, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. 

Just as she was about to go into a full blown panic, she heard the house phone ring and she rushed over to answer it without even checking the caller ID.

"H-Hello? Who-"

"You missing your brat?" Mitsuki's voice said through the phone.

"How did you-"

Mitsuki snorted, "Masaru went to check on Kaede-chan because he thought he heard something and Izuku-kun was curled up with her in bed.  _ Apparently _ they both decided they wanted a sleepover tonight and didn't inform any of us."

Inko exhaled shakily in relief and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "So Izu is okay?"

"Yeah, you don't need to panic. He's good."

"Thank kami-sama…" Inko said quietly, "Should I come get him?"

"Nah, those two are still curled up together. And I don't think either would be sleeping tonight if we separated them." Mitsuki replied, "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Now that I know he's okay. I'll have to talk to him in the morning."

"Alright. Well, night, Inko."

"Night, Mitsuki."

Once she hung up, Inko put her face in her hands. Her son was an angel most of the time, but there were times when he pulled stunts like this as well that made Inko think she was going to end up with grey hairs early.


	5. Tony's Disappearing Act, and Izuku's 6th Birthday!

Inko worried about Tony from time to time when news made its way to her. But nothing had made her quite this worried when it came to Tony Stark before. 

He'd gone missing.

After a new weapons demonstration in Afghanistan, the convoy he was in was attacked. Once the dust had cleared Tony had been nowhere to be found.

There was no body, so people assumed he wasn't dead, but nobody could seem to find where he'd gone.

Izuku had come home after school to find her crying on the floor. He wrapped her up in a hug and tried to soothe her like she did him, and it helped her somewhat, but there was only so much he could help with.

In the weeks after he definitely tried to help her more than normal, which mostly meant attempting to clean for her which she had to go back and fix, or attempting to distract and cheer her up when she was particularly down. He also attempted to make her breakfast in bed at one point, and woke her with the fire alarm going off which scared the hell out of her, but she couldn't really fault him for trying to cheer her up.

But her soon to be six year old still wasn't going to be able to stop her worries for long. If Tony _was_ dead, how was she supposed to explain that to him?

Explain that she'd lied about who his father was, and that his father was dead. And that he'd never get the chance to meet him.

When she got a letter from Tony's secretary Pepper Potts along with the usual check from Tony explaining that the money would keep coming for the foreseeable future it helped a little bit with her worries, but not much. 

It wasn't until she got a phone call from Pepper informing her that Tony had been found after 3 months that she really relaxed. He was alive and safe again. Inko thanked her profusely for calling and informing her, especially since that hadn't been released to the news yet.

///

A few days after Inko got the call that Tony was safe, it was Izuku's 6th birthday. It had been 6 whole years since she'd given birth to him and they were going to celebrate.

Izuku didn't really have friends that she knew about other than Kaede to hang out with, so it was going to be a small event with just her, Izuku, Masaru, and Kaede since Mitsuki was busy with work that day.

She took several photos of Izuku that morning, seeing how excited he was. Including a few bubble bath photos she was sure to embarrass him with once he was older. As the birthday boy he had requested extra bubbles, to which Inko had complied. Plus Izuku had the added game of trying to find all the rubber ducks she'd put in there as well as she got him clean. 

At one point all you could see was his adorable freckled face peeking out of the mass of bubbles as he giggled.

During lunch she sat and watched a pro hero movie with her son. He used a lot of words she didn’t quite understand what he was talking about as he talked out the fights (and dramatically re-enacted them afterwards). But she was glad he got enjoyment out of seeing the heroes beat the villains.

Later that day Inko donned her apron and set about making Izuku’s favorite. Katsudon was fairly simple to make, it just took some time since she had to pound, coat, and then fry up the pork. So, when there was a knock on the door, she was a bit stuck considering she had egg, flour, and breadcrumbs coating her hands.

“I’ll get it mom!” She heard Izuku call.

While Izuku checked the door she finished coating all the pork and put it in the fridge to rest for a little while. She then went to wash her hands to get all the built up dough off of them.

"Mom! There's a man here to see you!" Izuku said, calling out once more.

"Alright Izu, one second!" Inko called back, drying her hands on her apron as she walked out into the hall. Izuku had only opened the door a crack, so she didn’t see who had come until she opened the door.

“...Tony?” Inko said hesitantly, looking over his face. She tried not to freak out, because honestly what was she _supposed_ to do in this situation.

Tony Stark. Izuku’s father. Was on her doorstep, unannounced.

She could hardly believe her eyes. Inko hadn’t even seen the man in person since before Izuku was born, and now he was just.. There? He’d never shown even the smallest interest in what was going on with them before, and now suddenly showed up, with his excuse being he wasn’t sure she would have picked up if he had just called.

Which, she supposed was fair, but it also showed just how little Tony actually knew about her.

Midoriya Inko was not that type of person in the least, and though she tried to keep herself guarded as Tony began to speak, she found that harder and harder to try to do as he spoke.

He wanted to _try._ The thing she’d held out hope for in the back of her mind was actually _happening._ Though, for Izuku’s sake, she still had to make sure Tony knew she wouldn’t just take it if Tony decided to back out after this. Izuku was her main priority. Though, with Tony’s return, so came the return of the girl she used to be in the back of her mind not-so-helpfully pointing out if Tony was back in their lives it was a chance for her and him as well.

Though, her anxiety of course immediately squashed that possibility. Tony wasn’t interested in her. He couldn’t be, right? It was just a one time thing. Inko knew that going in. And she also knew her heart didn’t exactly do well with “one time things” going into it, but well, that hadn’t stopped her still. If her heart decided she was going to one-sidedly pine after the man she’d had a child with, there wasn’t much she could do about it except suffer.

And _kami-sama_ was her heart suffering that night. _Especially_ when Tony decided to flirt. 

It flustered her back then, and it flustered her now. That much hadn’t changed. 

Plus, she found it absolutely _adorable_ how out of his depth Tony looked when he tried to interact with Izuku. He might be a genius, but apparently kids were something he didn’t know how to handle well. She’d snuck a few photos of the two of them together that night for the scrapbook when she thought Tony wasn’t looking, and thought that they’d make great additions to it.

After awkwardly excusing herself to go to bed that night, she closed the door behind her and probably had the most cliche reaction she would ever have as she slid down her bedroom door and contained a yell with her face in her hands. She then proceeded to laugh at herself for a minute as she got up to get in bed proper. As far as Inko could see, chances of anything happening after all this time between her and Tony had probably died, but it warmed her heart to know that Izuku would finally get to know his father like he’d been hoping for.

No matter what happened as they awkwardly tried to figure out co-parenting from this point on, Inko knew as long as Izuku was happy. She’d be happy. And that’s all that really mattered in this circumstance.


End file.
